Ohio Faces a Time for Choosing on Abortion

I recently spent a weekend with dear friends and their newborn baby boy. At only 2 weeks old, their son can’t do much, except eat, sleep, and move his arms and legs around.

As a new mom, my friend said she has watched her son make movements that she recognizes are the same movements she felt him make a month earlier inside her womb. His physical location has changed over the past month, but little else has. He is still just as dependent on his mother as he was while inside the womb, and he appears to be entertaining himself with the same arm swings and leg kicks as before. 

My friend’s comments are a sweet reminder of the humanity of babies in the womb as the fight to guarantee the unborn’s right to life continues. Right now, that fight for life hangs in the balance in Ohio, where in November voters across the state will decide whether the unborn’s right to life is worthy of protection. 

On Nov. 7, Ohioans will be asked to vote on an amendment to their state’s constitution that would enshrine a “right” to abortion in the document. 

If the amendment passes, the following text would be added to the Ohio Constitution:

Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on:

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1. contraception;

2. fertility treatment;

3. continuing one’s own pregnancy;

4. miscarriage care; and

5. abortion.

The push to enshrine abortion into the Ohio Constitution comes after conservative lawmakers passed a six-week abortion ban in the Buckeye State in 2019. The abortion ban took effect after the Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade. But shortly after the pro-life law was in place, the American Civil Liberties Union, along with other pro-abortion groups, filed a lawsuit and successfully blocked the law.

Ahead of the vote in November to enshrine a “right” to abortion in the Ohio Constitution, pro-life advocates put forward a ballot measure to raise the threshold of votes needed in the state to pass constitutional amendments. The measure, known as Issue 1, was intended to raise the threshold of votes needed to amend the constitution from a simple majority to 60% of the vote. The measure failed at the ballot box Tuesday, maintaining the status quo in Ohio. 

“It is a sad day for Ohio and a warning for pro-life states across the nation,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said in a statement after the defeat of Issue 1. “Millions of dollars and liberal dark money flooded Ohio to ensure they have a path to buy their extreme policies in a pro-life state,” the group said. “Tragically, some sat on the sideline while outsider liberal groups poured millions [of dollars] into Ohio.” 

The right to life should not be political, but for now, it remains so. Come November, Ohioans have a choice: Protect the unborn or don’t. It’s that simple. 

On today’s edition of the “Problematic Women” podcast, Hayden Sledge, a young professional living out her conservative views in the District of Columbia, joins the show to share her pro-life journey and to discuss the significance of the fight for life in Ohio. 

Also on today’s show, we discuss the defeat of U.S. Women’s National Soccer team at the Women’s World Cup, and why some conservative political commentators are celebrating the loss.

Listen to the podcast below: 

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